Written by

Send us your story

She loved food — fried foods especially. “Fish and chips, fried shrimp with creamy, buttery sauce. It was all so good.”

And portion control? Forget about it. Hofer, a 76-year-old retired schoolteacher, ate what she wanted when she wanted.

But all that changed after a doctor’s appointment last spring. Hofer went in for a checkup because her vision was starting to blur and she was thirsty all the time.

Those symptoms should have been an indication of what her doctor would tell her, but Hofer was still shocked when he diagnosed her with Type 2 diabetes. She left the doctor’s office with a prescription for Metformin, a drug used to treat high blood sugar, and orders to check her blood sugar once a day. She also was urged to carefully look at her diet and lose 20 to 30 pounds.

The diabetic label was pretty disheartening, Hofer says. “I thought it was a life sentence.”

But she was determined to change her lifestyle — starting with her diet. Gone were the fried foods and a lot of the carbs.

“It takes me a long time at the grocery store because I look at the labels on everything,” Hofer says. “I look for low-fat, sugar-free items.”

Now, instead of drinking a glass of fruit juice, Hofer eats an orange instead. “It’s so much better for you,” she says. And she often replaces sugar with Splenda.

“I’ve found some really good recipes,” Hofer says. “You just start to change your way of thinking.”

But diet alone wasn’t going to do the trick. Hofer also had to start exercising, so she joined Welcyon, a fitness club designed for ages 50 and older.

“You have to eat right. That’s going to affect all aspects of your life. But you have to be active, too,” says Jesse Reisch, owner of the Sioux Falls Welcyon. “We’re meant to be moving. We’re not supposed to sit around and watch TV all day. You have to have that combination there.”

Hofer spends three mornings a week at Welcyon using the cardio and strength-training machines. Exercise quickly became a habit — something she looks forward to doing, in fact.

Now she feels good. “Physically, I have more energy, a little more strength.”

Because of the changes she has made to her diet and a dedication to exercise, Hofer has lost 40 pounds since last spring. But more importantly, her vision isn’t blurry, and her blood sugar level has dropped — so much so that her blood sugar is no longer in the diabetic range.

“I’m not on medication anymore, and I don’t have to test my blood sugar every day, either,” Hofer says. “I feel wonderful. The diabetic label is off.”

But that doesn’t mean she’s back to her old habits. “Now comes the hard part — keeping it up,” Hofer says. “To keep the weight down, I have to eat properly and exercise. It will be to my benefit.”